AK fumes at false doping report by Norwegian scribe
Athletics Kenya (AK) has raised concern over alleged besmirching of the country by a Norwegian journalist who falsely portrays Kenya as a country thriving on doping.
AK stated that it does not condone doping whatsoever among Kenyan athletes and challenged the journalist to substantiate his claims.
Pronouncments by the national athletics governing body comes in the wake of images of syringes purported to have been taken by the scribe in the high altitude training site of Iten and which have since gone viral on social media.
In a terse statement, AK said the images posted by the journalist are meant to portray Kenya in bad light and reverse the country’s gains in the fight against doping.
“While we do not condone doping and work closely with various teams, we do not condone unsubstantiated reports meant to cause confusion and panic within the athlete’s circles.
We welcome investigative pieces from wherever part of the world but only when they are backed with facts,’’ read the statement.
AK further questioned the authenticity of the picture and the location it was taken in, adding that it could have been stage-managed as it has happened in the past.
“The picture that is doing rounds on social media leaves a lot to be desired including proof of their actual location taken in Iten.
We do not believe that doping in Kenya has reached a level where athletes do it in open fields,” added the statement.
The trickery, which has caused furore amongst Kenyan athletes, has largely been blamed on foreign media.
AK said it is aware that some foreign media houses have always had doping pieces to coincide with major world events but since most of them have been postponed, such kind of ‘exposes’ are least surprising.
“For the last few years, we have put up with thiese kind of reports, which have turned out to be mere claims.
There are channels through which doping procedures are carried out and it is important we stick to the same to avoid any suspicions,” AK further said in its statement.
